The Brave Blossoms. How apt a nickname. Japan were incredible. They fought, they went behind, they came back, they levelled it with five minutes to go. But they eventually fell.

For Wales it is a case of win and move on. Bin the tape. But how they were made to panic.

Wales player Sam Davies kicks the winning drop goal in the 80th minute of the match

Wales players run to celebrate with Davies after he spares their blushes with a late drop goal

They were so poor for so long. Leigh Halfpenny’s 15 points kept them ahead. Dan Lydiate, Jamie Roberts and Sam Warburton scored tries, but really this was pretty shocking.

Japan had all the excitement, all the ambition, and all the skillful attacking touches. They scored through Akihito Yamada, Kenki Fukuoka and Amanaki Lotoahea, the latter giving them hope of a remarkable result.

For the second one Alex Cuthbert was caught dozing on the left wing and Akihito Yamada chipped him and sped forward to regather the loose ball, but as he bore down on it Liam Williams cut a cynical blocking line in front of him to take the winger out.

With Yu Tamura converting the penalty and one from a similar position three minutes earlier, the Japanese had a 6-0 lead.

That was quickly snuffed out though. Wales got going and Lydiate managed to bundle over on the right side after quick phase play. His first international try and Halfpenny’s conversion gave the Welsh the lead.

Roberts was next, proving he can run over things, this time choosing two red and white striped defenders after taking a well-timed offload from Jonathan Davies at the base of a ruck five metres out. Halfpenny converted.

But Japan were by no means out of it. Far from being overawed by playing in front of the biggest crowd in their history they looked excited, daring and unfazed. And by half-time they were within a point of Wales.

Akihito Yamada intercepted a loose pass from Gareth Anscombe to make it 14-13 to Wales

Alun Wyn Jones drew two Japan tacklers before finding Sam Warburton who scored the third

Gareth Anscombe threw a speculative basketball-style offload to no one in particular and Yamada raced onto it, scooped it up and left Cuthbert in a different postcode as he screamed away to score under the posts. With the conversion from Timothy Lafaele it was 14-13 at the interval.

Who would have thought the most exciting break of the match for the Welsh would have come from Alun Wyn Jones. It was superb from the second-row. He took a deep pass 40 metres out, eyed the gap and trundled through.

The Lion then had the presence of mind to draw in two tacklers seven metres out before finding Warburton with a brilliant offload. Trust the centurion to calm things down. Halfpenny’s conversion and penalty 10 minutes earlier took Wales into an 11-point lead.

But back came Japan, seemingly never cowed. You could see the influence of the Sunwolves’ first season of Super Rugby in their immediate response. Lovely, quick hands through Shota Horie, Tamura and Lafaele sent Fukuoka over in the left corner.

Leigh Halfpenny scored 15 points with the boot but even his reliable kicking wasn't enough

Lovely, quick hands through Shota Horie, Yu Tamura and Lafaele sent Fukuoka over the line

It was a beauty, showcasing the attacking skill that is so encouraged in the Southern Hemisphere competition. With Tamura’s conversion the gap was back to four again. Could they?

A Halfpenny penalty brought more sensible thoughts back to one’s mind. Then Tamura hit one back before missing a chance to take Japan within a point.

Halfpenny then stretched the lead to seven with his third penalty of the afternoon.

A converted try to go level was needed with minutes to play. And of course Japan got it. Substitute Lotoahea juggled the ball on the right wing and bounded over. The conversion silenced Cardiff, Tamura hit it from the touchline and the Brave Blossoms could dream again.

Japan's Amanaki Lotoahea scored a late try before Tamura converted to draw the score level

Japan thought they had done enough to seal a historic draw in the Principality Stadium

Davies received the ball in space with seconds remaining and kicked true to dash Japan's day

Surely not, surely not again. How could they top beating South Africa a year ago? This would do it. And with three minutes to go it looked eminently possible.

Cuthbert then had a chance. He traced down a kick into the goal area, but managed to knock on. It was not over. A minute and a half now.

Japan were throwing their souls into every tackle. But back the ball came. Sam Davies in the pocket. Drop goal. Dreams dashed.